New Specification for Blast Overpressure Testing of Bomb Suits
1. Scope
Scope: This standard document specifies quantitative blast overpressure performance requirements and test methods for bomb suits and helmets worn by law enforcement and military officers when facing a single representative explosive charge at a representative standoff distance. The relevant human surrogate measurements identified by practitioners and industry for many years as important are addressed in this standard as listed below: oReduction in blast-induced linear resultant head acceleration, compared to an unprotected human surrogate oReduction in ear overpressure, compared to a reference pressure sensor oReduction in chest overpressure, compared to a reference pressure sensor It is intended that every bomb suit and helmet meet the quantitative blast overpressure performance requirements listed in this specification document This specification document does not address: oQualitative performance of the bomb suit and helmet (blast integrity) oBlast-induced neck loading (deemed not critical for blast exposure) oAngular head acceleration (deemed to be correlated to linear measurements) oActual injury predictions based on injury criteria oAny other bomb suit protective requirements not related to primary blast exposure (e.g. fragmentation, blunt impact, flammability, ergonomics) This specification document specifies requirements for the full bomb suit system covering the full body (with the exception of feet and hands). Tests are not to be conducted on material swatches. This specification document specifies the human surrogate to be used, its exact positioning, as well as the test rig requirements to hold the surrogate realistically in place when facing the blast. This specification document specifies the data acquisition, filtering and data processing methods to analyze the blast test data. This test protocol identifies the quantity of tests to be carried out, the number of full suits and helmets to be tested, and the pass/fail criteria, or specifications. This specification and test method are complementary to the NIJ 0117.01 standard for public safety bomb suits This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
